The Game
by westpoints
Summary: [complete] Some people go to sleep when they've got nothing to do in the hospital. Some people play The Game. Fun, games, interns and attendings, and eyesex. Lots of it.
1. The Game is played

Just a little scene ficlet that can happen anywhere in the first half of season two. But before Cristina gave up her apartment, because that storyline makes this whole thing go wahooni-shaped. This has been more carefully thought out than the ones I've been writing lately, and therefore should have no annoying spelling issues.

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, nor do I own Terry Pratchett's wahooni.

* * *

"Wait for it. Wait for it. Hah! I win." Cristina flashed a triumphant smile at Meredith. Before the blonde began protesting, she waved her hand in the air. "I totally called it first. And besides, mine lasted longer."

"Fine." She continued walking.

"You're just jealous 'cause I'm winning today." She followed Meredith down the hall. "I am on a roll and nobody can stop me."

"Stop what?" George asked, appearing, as was his ability, out of nowhere to intrude awkwardly in conversations. Cristina rolled her eyes. George looked at the two. "Stop what?"

"We're playing a game," she said. "I'm winning."

George, unfortunately, asked.

"What game?" Cristina shifted audibly for a second.

"Meredith?"

"It's nothing, George."

"But she just said—"

"It's nothing, George." He stood there looking quite dejected.

"Okay then. It's nothing." Meredith let out a small smile.

"You did not just—"

"Oh, I most definitely call that one." Cristina opened her mouth to protest. "And...there. Hah! I'm winning now."

"That's not fair, we were talking to George!"

"What's not fair?" Izzie asked as they passed. They didn't say anything, but they did do the half snort-half laugh thing that people tend to do when they want to laugh, but can't actually do it, but still want to openly engage in the act. It's like a snigger, only with more sniffing. Anyone who has shot milk out of their nose because they laughed too hard is familiar with it. Alex stood beside her. "They've been doing that all day."

Izzie looked at him. "All I did was ask a question." Down the hall, Cristina and Meredith metaphorically blew out eyeballs in their attempts to smother their laughter.

"Women." He paused and looked back at her. "Excluding you, of course."

"Of course, Evil Spawn."

* * *

Yes, yes, there will be an explaination. All about The Game, which is goodly fun when you're a dork like me.

Please review. There seems to be a sort of club where the maximum number of reviews I get is 3, unless there's two chapters, and there's only one of those. Seeing as how this will have two chapters, I expect at least five before the update.

**Review!** Even if it's to tell me it sucks. As long as you explain how I can make it better, I won't be verbally abusive towards you.

Yeah, that's it.


	2. And it is ON

Yay, five reviews! You all are rewarded.

I did write this part first. And I have played The Game. It was not, however, created under the following circumstances. To get the full-blown explaination, go to my homepage, and there's a link on it somewhere that you can't possibly miss. It's a little slideshow looking thing.

But anyway...This is set maybe a week before the previous scene.

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy.

* * *

To say that this game started in a bar would be a lie. 

But not a very big one. The beginnings of this game _were_ spawned from a night of alcoholic celebration and two people with a grudgingly needy taste for gossip.

But not in a bar.

Well, not Joe's bar, which is all that really matters in this case.

"That can't be good for your liver."

"I'm young, I can manage."

"You need serious help."

"I know." Cristina blew half-heartedly at her unruly hair.

"I'm bored."

"You wanna play a game?" Meredith sat morosely on the floor in Cristina's apartment.

Actually, she sat on the clothes that were on the floor of Cristina's apartment.

"What game?" Cristina took a pull from the vodka bottle.

"I dunno. I Never?" The Asian swallowed.

"I Never is a stupid game. I don't do stupid." Meredith shook the bottle in her hands.

"You got any more tequila?"

"Probably." Meredith looked at her expectantly. "What, you want me to actually _get it_ for you?"

"Yes." Cristina rolled her eyes.

"Psh, forget it. Hey, is Izzie still at the hospital?"

"Yeah, with Alex. Why?" Cristina leaned in conspiratorially.

"Have you noticed how the two of them have eyesex, like, every chance they get?" Meredith made a half-hearted attempted to grab the vodka.

"No way." Cristina reached back, bottle in hand.

"I'm serious. It's like they're undressing each other in the Pit sometimes."

"No way. Didn't you hear her called him Evil Spawn the other day?" Cristina chewed on this for a second.

"I bet you they're doing it right now in the on-call room."

"They are not." Cristina looked indignant.

"Well, they could be." Meredith began her habit of tapping her finger against her lips.

"There's a game." Cristina raised her eyebrows. "It'll be called 'Look For the Eyesex.'"

"What, seriously, that's a game?"

"It is now. 'Look for the eyesex between Izzie and Alex.' Kinda catchy, too."

"Oh, God." Cristina held her breath. She didn't have to wait for long.

"I mean, most games don't usually have really catchy names. 'Egyptian Rat Screw.' Has anyone ever seen an Egyptian Rat Screw? Doesn't it sound like it should be a drink on the menu of some bar next to a 'Multiple Screaming Orgasm'? I could seriously go for an Egyptian Rat Screw right now. Joe needs to start offering that at his bar. Or, better yet, you need to learn how to make one, and make it _right now_."

"You done?" Meredith nodded. "Basically."

"God, and I thought the Valentine's Day conspiracy was your worst."

"I had a Valentine's Day conspiracy?" Cristina did a kind of shaking-slash-nodding of the head people tend to do when they're about to swallow and want to say something quickly. As if that action would let them swallow faster.

"Don't worry about it."

"Okay, so are we going to play or not?"

"I don't know. Sounds like voyeurism to me."

"It's not voyeurism, it's not like we're invading their privacy or anything."

"No, seriously, that's voyeurism. That's like...ocular voyeurism, which I'm sure is still a form of voyeurism in a court of law." They looked at each other for a full minute. In the alcohol-clouded recesses of her brain, Cristina sighed. "Okay then. The Game is on."

* * *

Meh. Dorky and anticlimactic. And tons of fun to play. Sorry you guys can't play it anymore, now that there's this whole _history _withthem. There is such a drink as a 'Multiple Screaming Orgasm,' I'm pretty sure. I'm also pretty sure that the Egyptian Rat Screw is still just a card game. 

Meredith's Valentine's Day conspiracy can be found in 'I am Cristina Yang,' which is also written by yours truly.

Please review.


	3. Strange how some people think alike

Whoo! Three chapters, guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Grey's Anatomy.

* * *

Izzie Stevens walked carefully down the hall, making sure to make as little noise as possible. This involved the little pantomime of exaggerated tiptoeing that almost always resulted in a squeak. Alex Karev walked behind her, an amused grin forming on his face. 

"Boo."

"OH MY GOD." Izzie turned around to confront a very entertained Alex. "That was not funny."

"What are you doing?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm trying to avoid Meredith and Cristina, because every time they see me, they start giggling, and it's really starting to—" She was cut off as the said pair sped by, their fits of laughter trailed behind them, and Alex raised an eyebrow.

"It's really starting to..."

"Annoy me." She huffed, and a strand of hair floated comically above her face for a few seconds. "George told me that they're playing a game."

"What kind of game?"

"I don't know!" she said, frustrated. She suddenly grabbed the front of Alex's scrubs and hauled him an inch from her face. "What the Hell is The Game!" He blinked.

"You know, you could use a mint."

"You know what it is, don't you." It wasn't a question.

"Stevens, if you're done harassing your fellow interns, I need you and Karev to get somewhere where you'll get some work done instead of making eyes at each other." Izzie immediately let him go, as Bailey continued walking. "Meredith and Yang are around somewhere, get them. They're playing some game, and I do not want them playing it on my on my watch." She turned to see the two of them determinately trying not to look at each other. "Oh." Izzie looked up. "Meredith is behind you doing spirit fingers. Make her stop." They whipped around in time to see Meredith's ponytail disappear.

"Meredith! Meredith, you come back here right now, or I'll—Meredith! ARGH!"

Meredith and Cristina shoved their hands into their lab coat pockets and stalked quickly to the elevator. They promptly dissolved into giggles.

"Five points for me!"

"That was good. That was so good. Did you see that? Don't tell me it's not true," Cristina said, jabbing a finger at Meredith, who smiled.

"Okay, it's true."

Someone in the elevator cleared her throat in the way that obviously meant "I'm not sick, I'm just coughing so that you'll notice me but I'm going to cough this way so you think I'm sick instead of just attention whoring."

Addison Forbes Montgomery Shepherd grinned at them. It was more like a shark grinning at a school of ignorant fish than a genuine happy-to-see you grin. She might not have been able to help it, though.

"So I see you two have started playing too." Cristina began tapping her foot in the silence that followed. "Oh, by the way." Both of them feigned temporary deafness. "You missed out on fifty-some points yesterday." Addison slammed her binder shut. "They were in the Pit." The elevator doors ding-ed open and she left.

"She did not—"

"Oh, she totally did."

* * *

The plot thickens...into the most random storyline I've ever written. Ahahahaha... 

I'm thinking one more chapter after this in which _all_ the players of The Game get together and talk about this situation.

Review review review.

Oh, and did I mention? Review.


	4. Threats with screwdrivers

I've fixed my dilema. I simply excluded Meredith from the chapter. Yay! Update!

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Grey's Anatomy.

* * *

Addison Shepherd was standing by the elevators on the third floor completely uninvolved in a Game. Preston Burke stood beside her, gently tapping a ballpoint pen on the side of his hand. The redhead looked around carefully before leaning over to Burke and whispering, "Grey and Yang have been playing, too." She hid a smile when his eyes closed in frustration.

"Remind me again, Addison, how I got into this?"

"It was my second day here. You asked me how I was doing, and I said fine. You asked about the interns, I said they were very good, and that Dr. Stevens showed promise in my field. You said that she seemed to get too emotionally attached. I said I was like that once, and it's easier to get less emotional than it is to get more so. You remarked on how Karev was such an example. And then I turned to you and said, 'They seem to work very well together, but Dr. Stevens attempts to show her hatred of him every chance she gets.' And then you said—"

"We all know what that means," Preston finished for her. He groaned. "And now you're telling me that two of the interns are playing, too?" Addison nodded. "Yang and Grey?" She nodded again. "It infuriates me that we have nothing better to contemplate than the status of a relationship between our interns."

"Preston, calm down. You've exceeded your syllable limit for the day."

"But to blow a few instances of eye contact completely out of proportion is..."

"A rather amusing way to pass time." He fumed silently. "Time, which, of course, could be used to pursue other means. Such as..." She broke off, her hand twisting in that way that people do, when they want to say something useful. It looks like they're trying to turn a very large shower knob. With a talon hand. Burke looked at her strangely and she gave up.

"I cannot believe this." Alex Karev came to stand next to him.

"Believe what?" asked Alex.

"That there was cake in the locker room, but we didn't get a piece," Addison said quickly. Burke gave her another look, and she just raised her eyebrows.

"There was cake!" The intern said, while the surgeon growled "in the locker room!"

"I heard it was Silverman's hundredth successful surgery," she continued.

"Silverman?"

"A new resident." Alex looked skeptical. "At the hospital, not her entire career, Karev."

The elevator dinged open to show Isobel "Izzie" Stevens feigning occupancy by reading through a chart. Burke acted quickly and poked two fingers into Montgomery-Shepherd's arm before she opened her mouth. The woman glared at him.

Izzie stepped off the elevator, and did that little thing where people looked up in passing and then stopped and stared because. Well, because they were about to run into three other people.

"Oh, Dr. Shepherd. Dr. Burke." She stopped at Alex and narrowed her eyes for an instant.

"Dr. Stevens," he said, in a cordial, rather smug voice.

"Dr. Karev."

"Dr. Stevens, are those, by chance, the results of the test that we ordered for our patient?" She made no reply. "Because if they are, I'm surprised that you didn't tell me, and I'm lucky that I was here, when you happened to pass by, holding them." Addison exchanged smiles with the man next to her.

"You're not even on this case! You just want it so you might scrub in on a good surgery instead of helping the nurses all day," Izzie said, glaring at Alex.

"But either way," Alex said, turning to walk with her, "I want in on the surgery, and I have free time. I want to learn," he continued in a complete bullshit voice, "About the very essences of...anemic porphyria." Addison chanced a very long shot glance at the paper Stevens was holding protectively. She was quite sure that neither the words 'anemic' nor 'porphyria' were on there.

"I'm giving these to Dr. Shepherd," Izzie snapped.

"Excellent, then I can come with you, and be edified of your most certain to be intriguing case." They continued bickering down the hall, Izzie's blond hair twitching furiously as her gaze alternated from the space ahead of her and the obnoxious human being at her side.

"I win," Burke said, and looked forward again. He blinked. "The elevator's gone."

"So it is."

Alex and Izzie arrived at the nurse's station, where Derek Shepherd was not seen. They made the usual inquiries at the desk. "He was just here, but I don't know where he went," was the answer.

"ALEX!"

"What?"

"Now we have to go find him!"

"Why?"

"Cos it's important. It's an important case!"

"What _is _the case?"

Izzie started off down one hall. "I'm not telling you," she said over her shoulder, sending one last glare at Alex.

As Izzie brushed past two people walking in the opposite direction, she distinctly heard the words "Two points."

"Cristina! Cristina, I'm going to kill you! I'm going to...give these tests to Dr. Shepherd, shove Evil Spawn's face in the toilet, and then I'm going to kill you! With a screwdriver!"

Cristina Yang looked bemusedly at George O'Malley, who asked, "What was that all about?"

"Nothing," she replied, a smirk spreading across her face. "It's five in the afternoon, I've been here for twenty hours, I needed something to amuse myself with."

"By having your life threatened," George pressed onward.

"Better than coffee. I don't think I've ever been threatened with a screwdriver before. This is what happens when I'm tired."

"Izzie kills you with a screwdriver."

"After she shoves his face into the toilet."

"She's shoving his face into the toilet?"

"That's true love right there, baby."

* * *

So. The next chapter will be the last. Thecontent is up to you: Do Izzie and Alex find out what The Game is?

Review, and after ten votes, I'll pick the winner. Come on! Review!


	5. Plot twists that should be obvious

Oh yes, another chapter. Sorry for the delays.

Ack. I think I've lost the narration I was going for here, but I couldn't pass up the ending to this chapter.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

The scene today was slightly different, in that the pairs playing the Game were Addison and Cristina, and Preston and Meredith.

Burke had protested this, saying that Addison wouldn't be able to catch his girlfriend cheating all the time, but then Cristina pointed out the alternative. Which, painted by her, ended in flying fistfuls of red and blond hair.

So now, the rules were being outlined between the teams.

"Okay. The two of them show up. First person who calls it gets the points," Burke said.

"Calling can be verbal, or you can stick your opponent with two fingers," Cristina went on.

"If they look at each other, it's two points," Meredith said.

"And for every second it lasts longer than five, it's a point more," Addison finished up.

"Five points flat for if they touch, ten points if it's intentional, no bonuses for extra time," Cristina rattled off. "Whoever has the most points at the end of the day. Wins."

The four stood rather awkwardly in the middle of the hallway, until, suddenly, Addison broke away, with Cristina in tow. "I heard that they were working with Derek on a case on the first floor," Addison said loudly. "We should check there."

Burke looked quizzically at Meredith. "Second floor?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," he replied.

Meanwhile, Cristina hurried to keep up with Addison. "So, um, they're really on the first floor?" she asked.

"Mmhmm," Addison said.

"I like the way you think."

"Mm, I know. Now hurry, I want to get my points."

"Oh, not unless I get them first."

"You forget, Dr. Yang, that I am the superior here, and I have played for much longer."

* * *

Contrary to either opinion, Izzie and Alex were actually confined to the fourth floor, where they were listening in great attention to Dr. Miranda Bailey.

"Stevens, how do we proceed?" Bailey asked in a monotone.

"We...we..." Izzie floundered.

"We keep her on fluids and monitor her progress," Alex interrupted.

"Very good, Karev. Hook her up, and keep tabs. This is a simple procedure, don't bother me with your insipid questioning."

Alex smirked at Izzie before attending to the patient as the blonde simmered.

"I knew that," she hissed as soon as they got into the hallway.

"I know," Alex said simply. "But you didn't say it."

* * *

It was lunch. Lunch break. At least, for Meredith and Burke. So far, the score was 10 Burke, 4 Meredith, mostly because Burke didn't find it necessary to sneak looks at the couple; he had license to stare at them outright.

But, it was lunch, and they had eaten at their separate tables, where Cristina filled Meredith in that she was 8-5 on Addison, and they decided that something _had to be done_, since it was, after all, interns against the attendings, and when was the last time that the interns had won _anything_?

It was almost beautiful how the two pairs looked up and watched their prey pass through the cafeteria, in a we're-totally-not-following-each-other-but-we're-going-the-same-place way, and suddenly realized the implications of the gesture.

It was almost beautiful how the four rose like synchronized swimmers and demurely _drifted_ out of the cafeteria to trail the clueless interns, in a you're-not-getting-there-before-us kind of way.

It was almost beautiful how, after reaching the hallway, they realized that they had _no idea_ where Alex and Izzie had gone, and, in a mad dash of slow-motion maneuvering, managed not to run into each other as they all took the hallway to the right, and began opening doors as a group. It never occurred to them to split up (And anyway, who would confirm the points?).

It was almost beautiful how Meredith pulled open the door to a supply closet, to find Alex and Izzie in a rather compromising position, which, later painted by Meredith, involved lots of saliva exchanging and not much clothing.

It was the most unsubtle, unbeautiful thing _possible _when Cristina, capitalizing on the shock value of their discovery, screamed "Almost having sex! Fifty points!"

And then dashed off excitedly with Meredith to do a victory dance very akin to her speed eating one. It also involved lots of high fives and no threats of throwing up.

Izzie detached herself from Alex sharply in recognition of the voice. "Cristina! Cristina I'm going to kill you!" She made it halfway out the door before she saw Addison and Burke, both more amused than shocked. "Dr. Burke," she said hurriedly, and made to run after the offending women.

"Dr. Stevens?" Addison said, an eyebrow raised, noticeably looking over Izzie's (lack of) attire.

"Dr...Montgomery-Shepherd," Izzie conceded, almost shrinking on the spot.

Alex sat nonchalantly on the floor of the closet, having managed to slip on his t-shirt while Izzie was being scrutinized. He held out her own shirt now, and she grabbed it, backed slowly into the closet, and slammed the door.

"Well," Addison said to Burke, passing by the still-celebrating Meredith and Cristina. "That was a plot twist that everyone probably should have seen coming."

* * *

In a satirical dig at my own story, I can either end it here or keep it going for one more chapter. Anyone? Anyone want to give an opinion?

Probably would have looked better on screen, but...whatever.

Review.


	6. This is how rumors get started

Oh god. You guys remember this story? I was so occupied with writing "One Thousand Words" that I completely lost my Alex-Izzie muse. But it's back now! It's back! And it's the last chapter, because I really can't take it any further than this...seriously.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

George walked quickly down the hall, head swiveling from side to side in a pantomime of looking for someone. His face was drawn into a Seriously Curious George face, and upon seeing, Meredith, he ran to catch up.

"Meredith!"

Meredith turned. "Oh. George, hey." She paused at his expression. "What's wrong?" George motioned for her to keep walking, while he whispered furiously in her ear.

"I just...I have something to say, only I'm not sure if I should say it, but I know that if I don't tell someone, then I'll end up blurting it out like word vomit or something, so I thought, maybe, I should decide who I should word vomit on or else I might end up doing something really stupid—"

"George. Breathe."

"This is not yoga class!" He took a deep breath anyway. "Okay. The thing is...I think..." He looked around carefully before ducking in to whisper "AlexissleepingwithIzzie."

Meredith frowned. Since she wasn't privy to George's intentions, she had kept her head in a more natural position while he was speaking, and so she heard nothing. "Alex is feeling dizzy? Is he okay?"

Cristina caught up with them, and heard the tail end of the conversation. "Is who okay?" she asked.

"Alex. George just said he was feeling dizzy."

"Probably has a hangover. I hope he has a hangover," Cristina muttered as they passed the nurse's station.

"Alex does not hangover, that's not what I said!"

Cristina looked disappointed. "What, no drunken debauchery by the Prince of All Evil?"

Addison looked up from her chart, interested. "Did you just say something about drunken debauchery, Yang?" Cristina motioned for Addison to follow, and she joined in on the group.

It was well known that the maximum speed of a moving was the speed of the slowest person in the group divided by the total number of people. By this point, a snail would have shamed the procession going down the hall.

Meredith coughed at the awkwardness, and attempted to get on the other side of Cristina. "Anyway," she said, after making a less-than-graceful maneuver around the Asian which almost resulted in a domino effect of flying limbs, "George says that Alex is dizzy from a hangover from last night, which was probably filled with drunken debauchery."

"I did not say that Alex is feeling dizzy!" George felt compelled to interrupt. They stopped at an intersection of hallways, because to go anywhere else would be a major obstruction of traffic.

Addison raised an eyebrow. "This is how rumors get started. Let's see, do I want to get involved?" Cristina nodded at her from behind George's back. "Okay, so what did you mean to say, O'Malley?"

"Are you sure he's not hungover?" Cristina asked, before George could answer. Preston approached from the stairs.

"Someone's hungover?" he asked.

"_No_," said George.

"George said Alex was feeling dizzy," said Meredith.

"I think Alex has a hangover," said Cristina.

"From a night of drunken debauchery," said Addison. Preston rewarded her with a strange look. "Hey, your girlfriend said it, not me."

"Debauchery, Cristina?"

Meredith piped in, "If anyone is still capable of debauchery in 2005, Alex would be."

"I did _not_ say that Alex was dizzy!" George yelled. Everyone turned to him in surprise.

"Right," Addison cleared her throat. "So. What _did_ you say?"

They all focused on George, who seemed to melt in the laser-intensity of their stares. "Well...I...what I actually said was...God, I did not mean to tell four people this, I wanted to tell one person and _then_ let the entire hospital know, so that—"

"George!"

"Right. Um. Alex. Alex Karev, who is _not_ hungover. Is sleeping." He stopped.

Preston leaned forward, as though expecting more. "He's...sleeping."

"Good, maybe he's dead," Cristina said.

"Cristina!" Meredith berated.

"What, it's not like you weren't thinking it."

"Alex!" George rallied. "Alex is sleeping. With Izzie."

The humor of this situation has to be viewed that all four players of The Game were very, very well aware of the Alex-not-really-sleeping-but-something-more-R-rated-with-Izzie situation.

They didn't tell George of course.

Addison blinked noticeably, Preston blew out a sigh, Cristina retained a smirk, and Meredith had the tenacity to say "What?"

"Yes. Alex is sleeping with Izzie."

Meredith raised her eyebrows at Cristina, who mouthed back "haven't they learned?" Meredith just shrugged.

Addison carefully edged along the side of The Game, and asked, in a nonchalant-totally-interested way, "How do you know?"

George said, "Because there are sounds coming out of a supply closet that I never want to hear coming out of any closet! At all! Ever! Especially if extra scrubs are stored in there!"

Preston, following Addison with almost more precision, asked, "Which floor would this...supply closet be on, so I can avoid contaminated scrubs?"

George looked at him strangely, but Preston merely gave him the "I'm an attending" glare. The intern acquiesced. "Third floor."

Cristina coughed. Everyone turned to her. "Well. Good to know. Nice to be all...caught up on the latest gossip. Thanks, George! Meredith, we have to go..." She grabbed Meredith's arm and made headway for the elevators.

"Yeah, we have to go check on patient Gerber, making rounds, nice talking to you!" Right before passing out of earshot, Meredith tossed over her shoulder, "Thanks George!"

Addison eyed Preston. "Well," she said loudly, "it's been sufficiently awkward, talking to you, O'Malley, so I'm going to...Preston, why don't you join me, I need a consult..." She began walking away, her arms moving in the windmill motion that was supposed to indicate going somewhere.

"Oh yeah, of course. O'Malley, always a pleasure." They headed _away_ from the elevators, Preston lowering his head to tell Addison, "if you can keep up, we can reach the third floor faster if we take the stairs."

George looked after them, bewildered. "No one tells me anything," he said to himself. "No one tells me anything, and when I tell anyone something, they don't share back. That is _so_ not fair." Derek, walking by to the lab, caught the tail end of _that_ conversation. Well, conversation wasn't really the right word...

"O'Malley? You okay?"

"Yeah, Dr. Shepherd, I'm fine. I'm just...I'm fine." George blinked.

"You sure?"

He burst. "No one tells me anything!"

Derek nodded in sympathy. "I know. I just found out at the nurse's station that Alex Karev is nursing a massive hangover from a night of drunken debauchery with that girl up in Peds. He is part of my intern squad, I should know this before it makes its rounds."

"Alex is not hungover!!"

The neurosurgeon looked confused. "He's not?"

"No!! He's having sex with Izzie Stevens in random supply closets!!!" George stopped himself, as he realized the number of exclamation points in his last statement was slightly irrational.

Derek laughed. "O'Malley, everyone knows that now."

"They _do_?"

"Yeah. Meredith, Cristina, Burke, Addison, they caught the two of them canoodling in supply closets last week."

"Did you just say—"

"I like the word canoodling, I will use it shamelessly. Anyway, they're your friends. You should have known before I did." Derek smiled. "I would talk to them about that."

He walked away, cheerfully minding his own business, when the serenity of his promenade was interrupted by George, having finally lost it, screaming "Son of a—"

Silence for a second. "Are you done having an aneurism, O'Malley?"

And then, "Good morning Dr. Bailey."

* * *

The "This is how rumors get started" line that Addison says is actually another dorky game of mine. Three of us wait for someone to say something out of context and carry it entirely too far. "I'm not going to have a baby any time soon so..." "What, you're having a baby?" "You're pregnant?" "I'm not having a baby!" "So you're getting an abortion?!" Yeah. 


End file.
